The head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church warned attendees in Washington last week that his church would not survive if Russia succeeds.
Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk took part in a discussion at the Hudson Institute to explore lasting peace in Ukraine, joined by Borys Gudziak, the metropolitan archbishop of Philadelphia, and Archpriest Marc Morozovich, with the event moderated by Nina Shea, director of the Hudson Institute's Center for Religious Freedom.
Shevchuk's visit came just before the U.S. government, led by President Donald Trump, voted against United Nations resolutions condemning the Russian invasion and supporting Ukraine's territorial integrity.
Shevchuk declared that Russian President Vladimir Putin has a “clear” objective: “to erase Ukraine, its people, and its church.” He emphasized, “If Russia succeeds in occupying Ukraine, our church will not survive. For us, it's a matter of life and death.”
He elaborated on the historical pattern of Russia's control, stating, “History teaches us that whenever Russia takes control of territories with Eastern Catholics, it enforces them into the Russian Orthodox Church, drives them into exile, or sends them to perish in prison camps.”
Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, with Putin claiming the attack aimed to protect pro-Russian communities in Eastern Ukraine, the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom have warned that Russia systematically persecutes many Christian churches, except for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate.
In November 2022, Russian occupation authorities arrested two Redemptorist Fathers, Ivan Levitsky, and Bohdan Geleta, and in December, they formally banned the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in the occupied territories, along with Caritas Ukraine and the global Catholic brotherhood of the Knights of Columbus. Shevchuk noted that at least 10 Protestant pastors are currently facing similar imprisonment and called on attendees to advocate for their release.
He remarked, “Most of our parishes in occupied territories have been destroyed. Churches and monasteries seized, property looted. ... Some church property is closed down and sealed, some are given back to the Russian Orthodox Church as it was in the late '50s.”
Shevchuk pointed out “the horrifying results of Russia's imperial ambitions,” noting that destruction and loss of life have intensified since the invasion began. He explained that Putin justifies this devastation through the Russian political concept known as "Ruskiy Mir," or "Russian world," likening it to radical Islamism and asserting that the ideology of "Russian jihadism" comprises three main points.
The first is the belief that the West is corrupt and “the embodiment of the antichrist.” The second asserts that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a “metaphysical” or “holy war” to defend authentic Christian faith and values. Lastly, the ideology posits that a Russian soldier killed in battle receives “the remission of all [his] sins and immediately will go to Heaven.”
As of February 2025, the United Nations Refugee Agency reported that approximately 12.7 million people need humanitarian assistance, and 3.7 million have been displaced from their homes.
By spring 2023, "almost all non-Orthodox churches in occupied territories were stripped of their right to hold church services," Mission Eurasia reported.
